 As a Chinese Medicine Practitioner, I am often asked about 𝗦𝗘𝗫.
People want to know if Chinese medicine can do anything for sex drive. My answer? Yes... but it's complicated. First of all, it’s normal to have a sex drive and it’s normal not to have a sex drive. 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡 & 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙭, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡 & 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙭. Put another way: 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝘅. 𝗡𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝘅 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗼. There are many factors that, to use terms in Emily Nagoski’s book, either activate your 'Sexual Excitation System' or your 'Sexual Inhibition System' when it comes to your sexual response. For the Chinese Medicine Curious, here’s what I’ll share... Sex involves multiple different organ systems in TCM: The Liver. The meridian encircles the genitals. And when you’re super stressed, the Liver qi stagnates. For some this puts on the brakes, whereas others enjoy using sex as a way to get their Liver qi flowing. The Kidney system. It governs our reproductive organs. If we are experiencing adrenal burnout or a deficiency in yang qi, we may find it harder to get aroused. The Heart. The Heart is related to anxiety, so whether it’s anxiety in general or performance anxiety specifically, if this system is out of balance then essentially the communication between your Heart & genitals gets short circuited. And yep, we’re humans who sometimes have #allofthethings going on at once! So yes we can use TCM (that's acu +/or herbs) in some ways to increase drive & sensation during orgasm. We can also enhance sperm & egg quality, and assist those experiencing vaginal dryness for menopausal or other reasons. Awesome, right? But first and foremost, it’s time to normalize your baseline when it comes to who you are and what you’re into or not into*. (*ALL abuse situations aside. No abuse should be ’normalized’. Ever.) Love and acceptance of self is always the #1 place to start. 😘 #sexpositivity #sexpositive #sexeducation #sexualhealth #selflove #pleasure #selfcare #bodypositive #feminism #sexualwellness #bodypositivity #acupuncture #torontoacupuncturist #chinesemedicine #tcm #tcmlove #aculove #acupuncturerocks #chinesemedicinewoman #sexandchinesemedicine
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 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗴𝗼.
This is the wisdom of the 𝗙𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗼𝘅 - which arrives tomorrow. Letting go can be hard. Or beautiful. Letting go can be about moving towards 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 - a benefic quality of the 𝘔𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 and the Fall season, according to Chinese medicine. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙜𝙤 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙀𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙤𝙭? It could be material things, Marie Kondo style. Or... ...with the astro transits* over this Equinox, what may become apparent are 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭-𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴. Not just fear, anxiety or melancholy - but rumination therein. Incessant mental chatter. Like spam in our mental 'inbox'! Not only does this mental clutter prevent us from feeling our best, but in Chinese medicine this rumination, or over-worrying, can damage the Spleen qi and create digestive issues such as bloating and lethargy. On an external level, our negative self-talk or incessant worries will ultimately impact our behaviour. And with the placement of the planet Mars this month as well, we must be extra mindful in our words & actions. So: My Equinox challenge to you (I will do it too, of course!) this week: 🍁Witness your mental emotional state with gentleness, self-compassion, and grace. 🍁If similar thoughts, fears, anxieties repeat themselves, write them down. Thank them. And let them go. 🍁If you want to get a little extra woo, write them on a fallen leaf. If there are more than one, collect several leaves and write on each. Then return them to the earth. Intentions need to be backed up by actions; that's integration ✅ 👍🏽 Another way to integrate is acupuncture. See your acupuncturist (I happen to know one 😉) and say your intentions aloud, and allow the session to work with you. There are some badass acupoints for helping to set these intentions in motion, embodying your journey. Feel free to DM me at the end of the week, with thoughts or pictures, to let me know how this went for you! I've got your back. #metalelement #FallEquinox2020 #fallthoughts #mentalhealthawareness #fallseason #earthelement #chinesemedicine #workwiththeseasons #fiveelementtheory #lettinggo #grief #declutter #emotionalhealth #mentalhealth #dothework #mercurysquaresaturn #mercurysquarepluto #mercuryoppositemars #selfawareness #torontoacupuncturist #tcm #anxiety #sadness #fear #compassion #selflove #journey #yougotthis  Third Eye Acupuncture Point ("Yin Tang") 👁
My choice of acupuncture point for the new moon in Virgo 👌🏽 Virgo is all about MIND/BODY connection, and the autonomic nervous system. The word that comes up for me with a new moon in Virgo is “𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵”. What is aligned with our authentic self, and what isn’t? Virgo gets picky, sorting through details and reorganizing us - for good reason. We are prepping for fall, for letting go of excess in order to feel balanced during Libra season. I’ve definitely been feeling this Virgo season, where “getting my ducks in a row” has been the primary theme! Decluttering at home, organizing some behind the scenes biz, taking charge of my health, and planning some fall studies… ! 🦆 🦆 🦆 ! BUT without 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 insight, the Virgo energy can have us caught in a head-spin. If we’re unable to connect our mind, body, emotions, spirit, we can get lost in the details - and end up frazzled 2 weeks in. If uncentered, this can wreak havoc on our psyche... and ultimately our body. So take stock this new moon: am I organizing my life in a manner - and a pace - that’s aligned with who I am? If you can get clarity on this, you can really harness this new moon in Virgo. Why? Because 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗺𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻, which can set the stage for sustainability through the actions we make today. 🙌🏽 💯 With the new moon trining Saturn, it’s a good day to set systems in place that help us build our future. But our intentions need to be clear, and aligned. Acupuncture always helps me with insight and alignment, and I love working on this level with my patients. #newmooninVirgo #alignment #insight #thirdeye #yintang #acupuncturepoints #🌑 #♍️  It’s early in the week, but 𝘐’𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵: I’m getting philosophical 🤯!
(I promise the philosophical will turn physical, so stay with me...👇🏽) I was inspired recently watching a lecture by Edward Neal, an MD & 𝙉𝙚𝙞𝙟𝙞𝙣𝙜 (𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦) Practitioner. He uses the 𝘕𝘦𝘪𝘫𝘪𝘯𝘨 to explain that 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 - 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲, 𝗶𝗻 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆. In our lives, we tend to focus most on the manifestations themselves: Some we enjoy because they are 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 (i.e. shelter, love). Some cause us suffering because they are 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 (i.e: headaches, tumors). It is my job as a practitioner to witness the physical manifestation, and then to zoom out. 𝗧𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝘄𝗿𝘆 and allowed a state of imbalance or disease to occur. 𝗔𝗰𝘂𝗽𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗼𝗳 𝗾𝗶, 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗶𝗱𝘀. 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘖𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦? Consider acupuncture to help steer you into harmony & health. If you have questions about acupuncture, let me know - I’m here to help 😊  It’s here: the epic 2020 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙚.
The planet of passion is treading backwards in some intense planetary terrain (squaring Saturn + a bunch of other tricky aspects). Here’s what it means for YOU: Notice: where have you been feeling a 𝙥𝙪𝙨𝙝 in your life these days? In what realm of your life have you identified 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙨, 𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚, potentially 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙩, and/or a 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙜𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮 𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨? This is likely where Mars is transiting in your chart, and this theme will continue - increasing in focus - over the next 2+ months. Note: 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸. Please: Don’t rush. (𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥) Remember: Don’t panic (𝘺𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘢 𝘭𝘪’𝘭 𝘣𝘪𝘵) Instead: 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂. (𝘎𝘶𝘭𝘱! 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨!) Shine the light there, and use Saturn’s disciplined energy & wisdom to set systems in place to help you learn and grow successfully in this area. It can also be an issue in the world or society that may be calling you to action. The same applies here. The harsh truth: This is supposed to take time, despite feeling impatient with it all and perhaps facing obstacles as you go along. The way through: For the impatient energy, do some physical movement (not reckless but physical) to help release that. This will help you can stay focused on doing the work - sustainably. The plus side: Though it may feel intense, it’s also exciting. You are getting the growth you need, working towards your Warrior Certification in this area of life. 💪🏽 Lastly: Take some deep breaths. Slow down, remember the long-game approach to sustain the drive to the finish line. Trust the process. Warriors can be gentle on themselves and others. True strength is cultivated by nurturing within. DM me your birth info if you want to know what area of your chart Mars is transiting. :) #marsretrograde2020 #warrior #astrology2020 #astronerd #personalgrowth #sustainability #evolve #fireelement #yougotthis  First day back running the community clinic @theherbalclinic ! 💛
So glad to be able to offer a percentage of my practice for drop-in, 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 sessions. For more about community acupuncture, see my page on community acupuncture. I’ll be running the shift on 𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟮-𝟲𝗽𝗺. We are doing a 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘶𝘯 of 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁 (must be booked the day before). See below for more details & COVID 19 protocols 😷 👇🏽 Posted @withregram • @theherbalclinic Our Community Acupuncture Clinic is back in business 🥳🥳 Starting Sept. 1st our acupuncture clinic will be opening back up with some modifications, of course. Our practitioners will be available for drop-in pay-what-you-can acupuncture from Tuesday to Friday. Our NEW schedule is: Tuesday 3-7pm with Emily Wednesday 2-6pm with Laura Thursday 3-7pm with Emily Friday 12-5pm with Tehseen Here's how we've modified our clinic practices to keep you safe: ⚠️Masks must be worn by everyone throughout the treatment and while inside the clinic ⚠️Spaces have been reduced to 5 patients at a time, these spaces are socially distanced and separated by room dividing screens ⚠️COVID screening questions will be asked when you arrive ⚠️Each space will be disinfected after each patient/visit ⚠️Hand sanitizer will be provided when you enter the store and in the clinic space We ask that you stay home and schedule a virtual appointment if they have symptoms, have recently traveled, have been in contact with someone who has tested positive or have tested positive themselves since we cannot see you in-person. We can't wait to see you!!! ❤️🧡💛 #theherbalclinicanddispensary  𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝟷 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺! 𝗛𝗼𝘄’𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝗴𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗿? ♍️
I’m loving it, as it gives me the 𝙪𝙧𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙜𝙚! Nicely aligned with the 𝘔𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 in Chinese medicine - which is all about 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 and the process of 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰 that the fall season brings. Tomorrow we’ve got a 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗲𝘀 ♓️, giving us a dreamy break from the Virgo details. If you let yourself dream, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 (Sun trine Uranus)⚡️. At the same time, you may may not like what it revels. With Venus opposing Saturn there is the potential for discord in relating with others (perhaps with authority or partnerships or interactions that require a lot of bureaucracy or red tape). But overall it looks positive. 𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢, 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨. 🌕✨𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁?✨🌕 #virgoseason #metalelement #astrology #chinesemedicine #fiveelements #fullmooninpisces #lettinggo #insight #mindbodyconnection #astronerd #fullmoon #personalgrowth #spiritualgrowth #evolve #torontoacupuncturist #dreambig #dreambigworkhard #dreambiglivetiny |
Laura BurnsRegistered Acupuncturist. Archives
December 2020
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